This course provides students with a basic understanding of how decisions are made for new and existing products, and the effect of these decisions on the marketing plan. Areas to be examined include the product development process from creative methods of idea generation to test marketing. Market research, segment identification, and SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analyses are learned to prepare the student for writing a strategic product management plan that includes tactics for each phase of the product life cycle. Students are frequently involved with actual new products sponsored by various private corporations. Their activities include: conducting focus groups, examining new product acceptance, analyzing or writing a marketing plan for that product, and providing a series of recommendations to the sponsoring organization for their consideration.